A team led by Graham Contracting Ltd. submitted the proposal. RTD staff will do a comprehensive evaluation of the proposal consistent with the agency's Unsolicited Proposals Policy to see if the proposal has merit. If so, RTD will then pursue a competitive procurement process and release a Request for Proposals (RFP) for competing proposals, consistent with RTD's policy and previous announcement to release an RFP later this year.

In January, RTD said it would release an RFP later this year to build North Metro up to 72nd by refinancing some of agency's debt, issuing new sales tax bonds and using available local funds. Therefore, whether through RTD's initial plan or this unsolicited proposal process, RTD plans to release an RFP for the North Metro Line this year.

The North Metro project is an 18.4-mile electrified commuter rail line that will connect Denver and Adams County by serving Commerce City, Northglenn and Thornton.

"We've been encouraging the industry to think outside the box and invest in our projects to get them done sooner rather than later and this is yet another example of how the market is speaking," said RTD General Manager Phil Washington.